


The Friendly Neighbour

by lleila



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cats, Clizzy - Freeform, Dogs, F/F, F/M, Fluff, For the love of pets, I'll try to be funny but I'll probably suck, Is everyone gay, M/M, Malec, Yes everyone is gay, i don't know where i'm going with this, jimon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-08 00:41:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8822866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lleila/pseuds/lleila
Summary: Alec Lightwood does not like interacting with anyone beyond his family and friends, and he most certainly does not interact with his neighbours. In fact, if it were up to him, he would never see or bump into any of them while going up to his apartment. However, it is life after all, which means it's definitely not up to him. So, he does the next best thing: he ignores them. For the most part, his neighbours are just as happy to pretend he's not there. Except for that one neighbour. That overly friendly neighbour. Magnus Bane. No matter how much Alec ignores him, the guy just would not stop trying to ignite a conversation. Until one day, Alec has no choice but to talk to him. Inspired by this tweet: “Alec has a pet, it gets stuck, Magnus the friendly neighbour helps him out." - https://twitter.com/dj_borntoread/status/788314836446879744





	1. I Live Here

Alec was exactly on schedule, as usual. He had 2 minutes left until he had to be in his car, driving to work. He finished his pancakes, checked that Smooches had enough food and water; kissed Smooches goodbye, grabbed his coffee, and made sure he turned off all the lights before leaving his apartment. 

 

1 minute to go. 

 

He pressed the button for the elevator, and while waiting it for it to arrive, he triple checked that he had everything he needed. TING! Alec got in the -as expected- empty elevator. He was very pleased with himself; his routine was going quite smoothly, and he had 30 seconds to get to the ground floor.

 

TING! 

 

As expected, the elevator stopped to accommodate his 5th floor neighbour. It did take Alec quite a while of experimentation to factor that into his schedule, and he was damn proud of himself. 

 

'Fuck my life,' he thought as his overly friendly, way too glittery neighbour beamed at him. Although seeing him was expected, it did not annoy Alec any less than every other day.

 

"Fancy bumping into you here!" exclaimed the cheerful neighbour.

 

Alec rolled his eyes so far back into his head, he was pretty sure if they rolled back any further he would see his brain cells dying. "I live here," he said in a deadpan tone.

 

“Ha! I knew you’d eventually respond to me!” The guy’s smile deepened, as Alec’s annoyance doubled. 

 

‘First of all who the fuck is this cheerful at 7 in the fucking morning. Secondly, why the fuck is this fucker dressed like Cinderella’s fairy godmother personally waived her wand to dressed him up into this awfully glittery suit. Thirdly –Wait, is he still talking to me? I can see his mouth moving. Oh shit, he is still talking to me. He can’t fucking get a hint. Maybe if I punch him right in the throat he’d lose his voice forever or maybe ––’ TING! The elevator’s arrival at the ground floor level brought Alec’s very murderous train of thought to an end. 

 

15 seconds to go.

 

‘See you later, busy bee!’ his neighbour called out behind him, as Alec rushed out the building and into his waiting car.

 

Alec slammed his car shut, double checked his mirrors and seat, revved up the engine and drove off to work, trying his hardest to ignore the not-so-bad idea of of running over his neighbour. He tried to focus on his route to work, which he already had memorised, but instead found his thoughts trailing to the very glittery neighbour who’s been invading his personal space every weekday for the past month.

 

Well, at least he got to work exactly on time.


	2. Pet Thief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec's pet gets stuck, and his friendly neighbour saves it. Or does he? 
> 
> Based on: “Alec has a pet, it gets stuck, Magnus the friendly neighbour helps him out” - https://twitter.com/dj_borntoread/status/788314836446879744

Alec walked into his apartment after another exhausting day at work, fully expecting to be smothered by Smooches. When the little furball of annoyance did not attack his feet, Alec felt his anxiety creeping, starting at his numb toes, going all the way to his tingling fingertips. 

He checked behind the couch, under the bed, heck, he even checked inside the fridge, praying she had not frozen to death! With each place he uncovered without a trace of his trusted companion, Alec felt the panic set in. He could hear the blood rushing to his ears and his breath getting laboured. Just as he was about to succumb to the anxiety, Alec suddenly heard a high pitched whining. Without sparing a minute of thought, he rushed in the direction of the noise, only to find his fire escape window open. A million thoughts started bombarding his brain, but he couldn’t think about his failures right now; he needed to find his little pup. Act now, evaluate later; that’s what he’d been trained to do all his life. He looked out the window and found his dog barely hanging to the fire escape stairs. 

“Hold on Smooches, I’m going to get you!” Alec told his puppy, hoping she could hold on for a little longer. Just as he was about to exit through the window to save his little girl, Alec saw a bright flash of sparkling black easily climb the fire escape and head towards his baby girl. He barely spared a glimpse of attention to the handsome saviour; instead his eyes were focused on his now safe Smooches. His adorable puppy is alive and very much safe. 

Inhale. 

Exhale. 

Inhale. 

Exhale. 

Alec took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself. Slowly, he felt the tension leaving his body, as if it were seeping through his pores. He couldn’t calm down entirely though –not until he held his puppy in his arms. Alec looked back out the window and recognised his dog’s saviour is non other than his overly friendly neighbour. Just as he stepped through the window to collect Smooches and thank the guy, his neighbour suddenly adjusted the pup before plopping smack down into HIS OWN fire escape window.

“You want your puppy back? Why don’t you come get it?” His neighbour teased. 

Alec was flabbergasted. He was so shocked by his not-so-friendly-anymore neighbour that his mind barely had time to register what was happening, and before he knew it, his neighbour waved at him, and returned to his own apartment, WITH SMOOCHES IN HIS ARMS.

Alec blinked. He figured the neighbour wanted to bring Smooches in through the front door instead. “Huh, what a funny guy,” he chuckled to himself. 

Going back to his apartment, Alec made sure that he firmly locked his fire escape window. He walked back into his living room, and stood by, waiting for his doorbell to ring. When 30 seconds passed with nothing happening, Alec’s nerves kicked back into gear.

‘He must be joking. There is no way he’s serious. He saved Smooches, he must be a nice guy.’ He thought to himself, as his nervous pacing increased, ‘Yeah, he’s definitely joking. He’ll bring her back any moment now.’

~ 1 minute goes by ~

~ 2 minutes go by ~

~ 3 minutes go by~

“I’m going to kill him,” Alec screeched, “I am absolutely going to kill him.” He tore his door open, and loudly stomped down the narrow staircase to retrieve his pup from the floor just below. 

He knocked angrily on the first door he saw. “OPEN THE DOOR YOU THIEF,” he yelled, hitting the door harder with each pound, until he was sure his pale hands would be sore, bearing an unflattering purple shade by the end of the night. “I SAID OPEN THE DOOR OR I WILL KNOCK IT DOWN, YOU DOG THIEF.” Alec was pretty sure everyone in the building could hear him at this point. However, that thought did not stop him from raising his voice even more; “IF YOU DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR RIGHT THIS SEC––” Alec’s screeching was cut short when the door suddenly opened revealing a small, frail lady, holding her crying toddler. From her bitter look, Alec knew the wailing teary eyed child was a result of his shouting. He felt his body heat in shame as apologies started spilling from his lips. He’s never been this embarrassed before, but then again, he’s never behaved so impulsively before. When the lady slammed the door in his face, Alec heard the sound of someone chuckling behind him. When he turned around, he found the thief standing with his apartment door wide open, laughing his ass off. Alec stomped towards the thief, needing to get Smooches back, so he can get back to his room and pretend the embarrassing encounter with his other neighbour did not happen.

“I knew you’d come get your dog––” “HOW DARE YOU,” they spoke at the same time. 

“Calm down, your canine is inside. Why don’t you step in a for a drink first, and then you can take your dog with you? I should introduce myself first though, I’m Magnus. Magnus Bane. What about you? What’s your name?” The puppy thief, Magnus, was elated that he was finally getting the opportunity to have a conversation, albeit a forced one, with his mysteriously handsome neighbour.

Magnus. Magnus Bane. Alec didn’t know which to push away first; the tingles that danced across his body, the hairs standing alert at the back of his neck, the goosebumps dotting his arms, or the very inappropriate thoughts that flittered across his mind. It’s just a name, it seriously can’t have that much affect on him, right? 

“I don’t care for drinks. I want my puppy back.” Pushing his dark, messy hair away from his sweaty forehead, he announced, “My name is Alexander Lightwood. Actually, Alec. Just Alec,” Alec replied. Pushing Magnus aside, he walked into his apartment. “Smooches! Where are you baby?” To Alec’s delight, his ever loyal puppy came running to his feet. He knelt down to accommodate the small thing, petting her head just the way she likes.

The sound of Magnus’ laughter filled Alec’s ears, engulfing him with warmness. “Smooches? Huh. I didn’t think you’d name your pet Smooches. I didn’t think you’d have a tiny adorable goldendoodle either. You know, Alexander, I thought perhaps, if you even had a pet, it would be an Akita or a German Shepherd. Or maybe even a grumpy cat, since you act like one all the time,” Magnus said matter-of-factly, like he was talking about the weather.

Alec’s heart skipped a beat at being called ‘Alexander,’ and he would’ve focused on the older man’s rich baritone voice, if he wasn’t completely appalled by what he said. “No way, I would never have a cat. They’re absolutely disgusting.” Alec watched the smile fade of his neighbour’s face. 

“Excuse me? Cats are not disgusting. People like you, who don’t appreciate felines are. You are undeserving of the cute puppy you have, since you clearly lack a basic understanding of cuteness,” Magnus ranted. Alec was startled by the man’s sudden change in attitude. ‘Woah. He’s really sensitive about that topic,’ Alec noted to himself, when a cat appeared out of nowhere, rubbing against his legs. 

“Stay away from him, Caesar, he’s not worthy of your love and affection,” muttered Magnus. 

“Caesar?” It was Alec’s turn to laugh at the pet name, “why on earth would you name your pet after a salad?” 

Magnus was taken aback by the sound of Alec’s laughter. Just yesterday morning he was proud of himself for finally getting the mysterious grumpy neighbour to acknowledge his presence with words, and now he was getting a laugh. Blessings really do come through in the smallest of things. When his mind finally registered what Alec was saying, he was mortified. “My pet is not named after a salad! He’s obviously named after the Roman general, Julius Caesar. A Salad?! Pshhht.” 

“Oh. Wasn’t Caesar a piece of shit? So my question still stands, why would you name your pet Caesar?”

“Why did you name your dog Smooches, Alexander?” Magnus was dazzled when Alec’s cheeks lit up in response to his question. 

“I asked you first,” replied Alec, trying to avoid having to give Magnus the reason behind Smooches’ name.

“Fair enough. I named my cat Caesar because despite the fact that I sheltered him, and I feed him several times a day, treat him to massages, and make him the cutest outfits, the little shit still walks like he owns the place,” Magnus said, looking at his cat lovingly.

“You give your cat massages and you make him outfits?” Alec asked, trying to imagine what that would look like. 

“Yes, Alexander. Now, don’t change the subject. It’s your turn to tell me why you called your puppy Smooches,” said Magnus with a knowing look on his face.

If possible, Alec’s face got even more red. “CausewhenIrescuedherthefirstthingshedidwaskissmeandcallingherkisseswouldbereallyweirdsoIdecidedtocallhersmooches,” he rambled in one breath.

“Um. Come again?”

Alec took a deep breath and released it. “I said, I named her Smooches because when I rescued her, the first thing she did was give me a kiss, and I couldn’t call her kisses because that would be weird. So I decided to call her Smooches,” Alec confessed. At this point he’s only a couple of shades away from becoming a tomato, and Magnus was really delighted. 

“I knew you’re not as brooding as you try be,” laughed Magnus.

At the reminder that he’s supposed to be brooding, Alec sobered up and decided it was time for him to leave. “I should get going,” he said, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. After all, there is no reason he should be disappointed. He was the one who made the decision to not interact with his neighbours. This is what he wanted. So, why was he feeling upset at the thought of leaving? “It’s probably because I liked the conversation about pets,” he tried to convince himself. 

“You pushed me and walked into my apartment without my permission, the least you can do is stay for a drink or two,” Magnus replied smoothly.

“It’s ‘cause you stole my puppy!” Alec screeched defensively. 

“Then the least I can do is invite you for a drink or two, as an apology, of course.” Alec looked up at Magnus, only to find the man smiling cheekily. At that, he decided there’s no harm in staying for a couple of drinks. 

So he stayed, and they drank. They drank way more than a drink or two, and they talked about anything and everything under the sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! 
> 
> If you have any comments, I'd love to hear them.
> 
> What do you think will happen next? Will a friendship blossom between these two men, or something else? Or will Alec go back to being the brooding neighbour?

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, this is a very short chapter. I'm not entirely sure where I'm headed with this, but I have a very loose plan in my head.
> 
> Chapter 2 is done and just needs some editing. I can promise that it is longer than this one. I'll see how you guys feel about this chapter before I post the second one, though. 
> 
> If you have any comments/suggestions, please don't hesitate to let me know. 
> 
> Enjoy!


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